This company wants to use fake VPN instances to deceive cybercriminals

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A provider of deception-based cybersecurity solutions has released a new defense tool that employs fake VPN credentials to lure cyberattackers away from important assets. 

TrapX Security is launching TrapX Flex as what it says is the world’s first deception-as-a-service solution, enabling organizations to protect sensitive data while enabling employees to work remotely.

The work-from-home shift that has accompanied the coronavirus pandemic has greatly increased corporate risk. In fact, according to one survey, 71% of IT managers believe that their businesses are exposed to more cyber risk now than before the pandemic.

Setting the trap

TrapX Flex aims to reduce this risk by delivering a number of safeguards for businesses with remote workers. An endpoint fitness test can be employed to carry out a fast audit of remote worker endpoints, while 24/7 monitoring constantly scans for the latest threats.

Perhaps most interestingly, TrapX Flex uses false VPN instances to trick threat actors. Agentless, endpoint lures and corporate traps are used to distract attackers from real assets and convince them to share insights into their techniques.

Deception technologies are a relatively new branch of cybersecurity that aims to prevent a threat actor from doing any damage once they’ve successfully infiltrated a network. They work by creating decoys that mimic legitimate assets so cybercriminals think they are stealing real information. The deception tools record the attack vectors employed so that safeguards can be put in place.

"The explosion of remote workers has fundamentally changed how enterprises build their strategy, their teams and their culture. It has accelerated digital transformation, bringing well-known challenges such as shadow IT, BYOD and cloud security to the forefront,” said Ori Bach, CEO of TrapX. 

“Most security leaders acknowledge that they’re now exposed to more risk, shining a light on the need for greater surface area coverage and lateral movement visibility in the cloud and in their corporate networks. In a time of drastic disruption, security teams must embrace these changes and take the fight to the attackers.”

Barclay Ballard

Barclay has been writing about technology for a decade, starting out as a freelancer with ITProPortal covering everything from London’s start-up scene to comparisons of the best cloud storage services.  After that, he spent some time as the managing editor of an online outlet focusing on cloud computing, furthering his interest in virtualization, Big Data, and the Internet of Things.